Probation agency snags national award

San Francisco’s Adult Probation Department isn’t just celebrating the opening of its new re-entry center this month — the agency also got word that it has been awarded a prestigious national award in the probation field.

The President’s Award from the American Probation and Parole Association recognizes an “exemplary community corrections programs which serves to advance the knowledge, effectiveness and the integrity of the system,” as well as “visionary organizations that have exemplified the management and innovations necessary to lead community corrections into the next decade.”

In other words, San Francisco’s probation agency — which has focused in recent years on evaluating its clients with scientific metrics, then using that information to figure out what they need to succeed — is becoming a national model.

“It’s awarded sparingly to agencies that further the field of criminal justice,” said Chief Probation Officer Wendy Still, who has made improving the department her main priority since she was hired in 2010. “I’m really jazzed. To go from where we were at three years ago to winning a national award is unbelievable.”

Back then, Still said, “we had a 25 percent attrition rate, vacancies … and pink slips every year for every employee.

“The department was looking at a 30 percent budget reduction, but the Board of Supervisors and mayor decided that instead of cutting community corrections, they would make an investment — and it really paid off.”

Still credited the hard work of her staff, who have seen their role in the city’s criminal justice system expand greatly since the 2011 statewide reform known as realignment. She will accept the award next month.